By Flores                                            H.C.R. No. 270
         76R12227 BE-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, There is no resource more important to the State of
 1-2     Texas than our schoolchildren, and the countless education
 1-3     paraprofessionals of this state are a largely unrecognized force in
 1-4     the educational process; and
 1-5           WHEREAS, Working side by side with teachers,
 1-6     paraprofessionals have become an integral component of schools
 1-7     today; growing class sizes and shrinking budgets, conflicting
 1-8     demands and divergent expectations, all have greatly complicated
 1-9     the teaching process, and paraprofessionals ease those
1-10     complications for educators and administrators alike; and
1-11           WHEREAS, Their individual titles and descriptions are as
1-12     varied as their roles; teacher assistant, instructional aide,
1-13     educational trainer, library attendant, bilingual assistant,
1-14     special education associate, mentor, or tutor, foremost is their
1-15     importance in helping to provide the quality education students
1-16     need; and
1-17           WHEREAS, Their experience, skills, and training enable
1-18     paraprofessionals to help students and teachers in immeasurable
1-19     ways innumerable times every day; whether helping mainstream
1-20     students with disabilities, working in bilingual or ESL classrooms,
1-21     or providing assistance in a difficult class when one instructor
1-22     simply is not enough, paraprofessionals help; and
1-23           WHEREAS, Paraprofessionals are a remarkable group of
1-24     dedicated individuals who have made tremendous contributions to
 2-1     teaching and teachers and to the learning process, and it is indeed
 2-2     appropriate to recognize them at this time; now, therefore, be it
 2-3           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
 2-4     hereby recognize the valuable role of paraprofessionals in
 2-5     education and proclaim May 10-14, 1999, as Public School
 2-6     Paraprofessional Week in Texas and extend to these dutiful
 2-7     individuals great thanks for their contributions to the Texas
 2-8     public education system.